Music majors: cover your ears, I have a confession to make. I like the oxymoron that is “contemporary classical” music more than the classic composers of yore. There’s plenty of pre-20th century music I like, to be sure, but I guess I prefer music composed today because often it has a kind of dissonant, raw feeling that really appeals to me. Also, I listen to heavy metal. These two things may be related.
Having bared my soul to the world, I’ll just come out and say what’s on my mind: I much preferred Time For Three’s first set of original compositions to their second set made up of Brahms and Bach and “Turkey in the Straw,” among other old standards.
Their second set was enjoyable, especially considering the way they goofball everything up. Ranaan’s caricature of a jug band bass player seems funny until you realize that’s how he actually plays all the time (then it’s hilarious). And there’s no doubt these guys can play their instruments. They never failed to impress from a technical standpoint, which is maybe why I wanted to hear more of their own work. Lots of people can play something great, but not everyone can write something great.
Ranaan can write something great. He has a great sense of when to build tension through fiddle runs at laser-like speed, and when to bring all the instruments together for some very solid grooving. I was so impressed with the first set I was actually let down by the relaxed, goof-off atmosphere of the second (though I still thought they were pretty funny and had a good time with it).
Overall, Time For Three’s greatest strength lies with the diversity of their characters, which I’m going to awkwardly reduce to boy-band like monikers. Ranaan’s the goofball with his ridiculous playing style and constant child-like grin. Nick’s the bad boy: he plays with an incredible amount of ferocity and energy and he sports a wicked fauxhawk. Zachary’s the quiet one, the only player who might fit in with a famous symphony. He’s much more reserved than the other two, which was odd considering his strength was his fiddling.
The point is, this group has an impressively wide appeal and the show had something for everyone. Selfishly, I wanted a little more for me, but it’s hard to find fault with a band so infectiously likeable.
Brian Dau is the host of "The Lit Show" on KRUI 89.7 FM and interviews a different Iowa City author every week without fear of running out of writers to talk to. Tune in sometime. He majors in journalism and English and writes for the Arts section of the Daily Iowan.
